Not Fade Away
by Muslin
Summary: Two years passed since Sasuke nearly killed his former teammates and finally got revenge on his brother. Sakura finally takes it upon herself to bring back the Uchiha. Will it be just a desperate last attempt or not? SasuSaku
1. Whispers In The Dark

**A/N: Contains spoilers up to manga 410.**

_The Hokage's tower was Konoha's highest building. And the one which most frequently needed repairs. The "WARNING! Falling objects!" sign next to it was left from the last renovation and it was left for a reason – more often than not did objects fly from tha__t building, and that lazy spring afternoon was no exception._

"_Look mommy! A flying chair!" a little boy pointed as his mother grabbed him and ran for dear life._

"_Not good… The Hokage is angry…"_

_If the Fifth could hear those words, she would have burst in a "You're damn right I am!" However, she was too busy trying not to tear her own office apart._

"What did you say, Haruno?!"

_The pink-haired girl sitting in the chair in front of her desk calmly sighed. _I should have known she'd react like this…

"_Tsunade-shishou, I request that you…"_

"_Hold on, I'm not done yet!" With that the Fifth Hokage punched a human-sized hole into the wall. Her breath was coming out unsteadily. She pressed her fingers to her temples in desperate attempts to calm herself down._

"_Alright. I am now. Now what did you say?"_

_Sakura swallowed._

"_Tsunade-shishou, I request… I request that I be allowed to begin a solo mission for the retrieval of… Sasuke Uchiha."_

_Tsunade's eyes betrayed nothing, only her brows furrowed even more after Sakura's repeated request. She continued to glare at her apprentice for a few long moments. Then sighed as her shoulders slumped in surrender._

"_I knew you would come to me with that one day. And I suppose I should have been prepared for it, ne?"_

_Sakura's eyes continued to study the awfully interesting patterns on the floor. _

"_But some things we can never be ready for. I could easily deny you, crush your attempts and that will be that. But what kind of Hokage would I be if I make Konoha's children miserable? Every time Naruto came banging on my door with that same request you are making, I shot him down. After that first time I allowed him… it was just no use. Three years later, I thought that he would be strong enough, that he would be ready… I sent you, too, didn't I?"_

_Tsunade smiled sadly._

"_You don't know how I felt after Tenz… after Yamato told me you all came back alive on Orochimaru's whim… I knew I had made a mistake letting you go. That mistake nearly cost me your lives."_

"_If getting Sasuke back means putting our lives on the line, we will gladly do so, shishou. You know that."_

"_I know__. And that only makes it harder. But nothing is harder than seeing you and Naruto, Sakura. Do you know that I watch you? Do you know that everyone does? Do you know what they see? They see two dead people, Sakura! You eat, you sleep, you train your butts off, you go on missions, you joke and you fight, and you laugh, but you're dead! For three years you have been outside of Konoha! Your bodies are here, but your souls and spirits have not come back since then!"_

_Sakura's gaze shifted sideways. Everything her master was saying to her was true. Oh, how she wanted it to be wrong, but there was no use denying the truth. Not anymore._

"_I want you two back, Sakura. So I will not stop you this time. I will let you go on this mission. But I'll be damned if I let you go alone! You will take…"_

"_I will not take anyone else with me, shishou! No one can know I'm going! If I am to die on this mission, then… then let it be only me! I refuse to let anyone suffer because of me."_

_Tsunade looked at her like she was mad. But then understanding flashed across her face._

"_Oh, Sakura-chan… I should be cursed and damned if I let you go breaking your head alone, but who am I to stop you? I _can_ stop you, of course, because I'm the Hokage, but who am I to do that? You'll just run off, permission or not."_

_Sakura's eyes widened. She hadn't thought that Tsunade would actually let her on a solo retrieval mission, but she had just did. She just couldn't bring herself to say it straightforward. _

"_Thank you so much, Tsunade-shishou…"_

_The Hokage waved her arm, stopping the girl._

"_Hold on a bit! I haven't quite given you the "yes" yet! Before I do, you must promise that you won't let anyone know where you're going! Or that you're going alone! If the council finds out about this, they'll have my head! They'll be trouble enough even if you agree to form a team. Therefore, this mission will not be listed anywhere. Nobody can find out about it, not until it is complete…"_

"_Hai, Tsunade-shishou! That was exactly what I was going to ask! I promise that no one will find out about this mission! I will not tell anyone about it, but you mustn't either! Not to anyone! Especially Naruto…"_

_Sakura looked at her master with desperation._

"_Tsunade-shishou, if he finds out what I'm doing when he comes back from his training…! It will break him, Tsunade-shishou! You know how much he wanted the same thing you're allowing me to do! He would be furious with me for not taking him… for denying him a chance to try again… he most probably wouldn't want to hear my name for the rest of his life. I don't want to lose him, too, Tsunade-shishou!"_

_Tsunade knew that Naruto would probably react even worse than that. She understood Sakura completely._

"_You have my word, Sakura. Naruto will not find out about this mission."_

_Sakura sighed with relief, her eyes wide._

"_Oh thank you, Tsunade-shishou!"_

"_But answer me this: if you succeed in bringing the Uchiha back, and God knows how much I hope you do, what will you tell Naruto then? Will the success of your mission change his reaction when he finds out about it?"_

_Sakura had thought about this option long and hard. Many nights she would lie awake and wonder what Naruto would say if she showed up at Konoha's gates with Sasuke. What would he think of her if she came back with Sasuke? When he found out she had succeeded in what he'd spent five years of his life fighting for, taking from him the chance to finally do so on his own?_

"_Naruto will understand, Tsunade-shishou. He will hate me at first, I know he will… But if I bring Sasuke-kun back, if I succeed, he will understand." _But God help me if I fail…

_Tsunade knew her apprentice was right. Naruto would be angry if he found out Sakura wanted to go on such a mission alone, without him, but he would be furious when he found out that she, the Hokage, who had denied him that more than once, had let her. She would not tell Naruto, not for anything. At least not until…and _if_ Sakura returned safely with the Uchiha._

_But she was seeing something new in her apprentice's eyes. __A cold, quiet determination. It had been two years since she had allowed Kakashi to form an 8-man squad for that same mission she was going on now alone, and had failed. That third failure had had a very strong impact on Sakura. She had not been the same since then._

_She never admitted it, but Tsunade knew she was blaming herself for the fact that they had failed again. She had then developed a frantic desire to be useful._

_When she trained, she wouldn't stop for hours, often collapsing on the training ground and spending the night there. When she was being tutored under her master, she absorbed everything like a sponge. When she helped out at the hospital, she fought for every single patient tooth and nail, taking 24-hour shifts more often than not, and a few times she had drained her charka completely, close to the verge of death._

"_You've changed, Sakura." Tsunade said absently._

_Sakura's stoic expression softened._

"_Is it for the better?"_

"_I honestly don't know. Look, I know that you feel responsible for the failures of the previous missions, but you are not!"_

"_How can you be so sure, Tsunade-shishou?" Sakura asked bitterly. "I've had so many chances! And I've wasted them all! Because of my weakness, because I could never do anything to help! I've never been able to do anything… I wasn't strong enough to bring him back then, and I know I'm not strong enough to do so now, but what else can I do? I can at least try…"_

_Her eyes drifted to the azure sky outside the broken window._

"_What if he thinks we have forgotten him, shishou? He always thought he was alone… What if he wants to come back, but he thinks we'll turn our backs to him?" she knew that she was lying to herself, but she wanted to believe so badly…_

"_I have to find him, shishou! I need to. I know how little the chance is for me to succeed, but I have to go. Even if it's just to see him again. To tell him he is not alone… that he never was. That I have always been there for him, and that I always will be… That if he comes back, he can be happy, that Naruto and I can be happy as well. Is it so wrong for me to want my friends to be happy, shishou?" Sakura looked at the Hokage with pleading, sad eyes._

"_You have my permission, Sakura. You have my permission to go on a top-secret, S-rank solo retrieval mission that is very likely to be your last, but you have it." The Hokage had turned away from her, afraid that if she told her face to face, she wouldn't be able to let her apprentice go._

"_Now go, before I change my mind and chain you here."_

_Sakura stood up and bowed to her shishou's turned back._

"_Arigatou, Hokage-sama." She said quietly and turned to leave the office._

_She stopped at the door._

"_What will you tell Naruto or my parents if they come asking for me?"_

_Tsunade allowed herself a moment to think._

"_I'll tell them I sent you to Sunagakure on medical research. For an indefinite period of time."_

"_Hai." Sakura nodded. She turned to leave._

"_No one is to know about this mission. Please give my love to Naruto and my parents, shishou."_

_The moment Sakura exited the office Tsunade's eyes got moist for no reason. _

"_Please come back alive, Sakura-chan…" she whispered._

_On the other side of the door, Sakura heard._

"_I will, shishou."_

Sakura's eyes fluttered open. _Yeah, right…_

Every night she had that same dream, that memory of the day she left Konoha in search of her comrade. She had quietly promised her master she would not lose her life, but now… that too seemed like a distant memory.

Her beaten body refused to move, no matter how hard she willed it to. The shackles around her wrists painfully reminded her that she was a captive, and that her life depended on how good she could play defeated.

Her eyes were wide open, yet they saw nothing, only darkness that surrounded her and confused her.

Sakura sucked in a breath harshly as she heard the prolonged noise of a door creaking somewhere.

A beam of light penetrated the darkness, allowing her to see that she was lying on a stone floor.

"Well, well! The cherry blossom's awake, huh? Oh, he'll be glad to have some company…"

The Sound nin started walking towards her, chain in hand, and Sakura couldn't help clenching her eyes shut in fear. When he stopped next to her and hauled her to her feet, she couldn't help hissing in pain – every muscle in her body was voicing its protest.

Sakura opened her eyes and forced herself to look her captor in the eyes.

"My, my, if looks could kill…" he chuckled. He pulled the chain in his hand that was connected to the shackles on Sakura's wrists, hauling her closer to him like a dog. The kunoichi tried to resist and bore her heels in the ground, but he pulled harder, causing her to fall on her knees before him.

Sakura hated it. Forced to kneel before some scum who had beaten her up…

"I'll kill you, bastard!" she said. But what came out was only a tortured sound and a trickle of blood she spat on his shoes.

"Oh, I'm offended!" the Sound nin mocked.

Sakura clenched her teeth in anger. She hated being so helpless, her life at his whim. If she had a hand free, he would be gurgling in pre-death agony right now.

He started pulling her roughly after him. He practically dragged her to the door because her legs did nothing.

"Come on, walk, you little bitch!" he growled quietly. When Sakura didn't comply, he wrenched the chain, painfully twisting her wrists.

She got up on her feet and walked up to him, her head spinning.

"There we go, I knew you'd warm up to me!" the Sound nin teased while grabbing her chin and turning her to face him.

Sakura spat blood in his face, her eyes glaring with hatred.

He licked the blood off, licking his lips afterwards. It reminded her faintly of Orochimaru. _Like leader like villagers_, she thought. After Orochimaru's death, the Sound village had fallen apart, and only a few scattered remnant groups roamed across the continent, loyal to no one, attacking every ninja they came across.

One such group had ganged up on Sakura when she had come into former Sound territory on rumors that "Falcon" was scavenging through the village ruins, in search of his old summoning scrolls – ever since Manda was gone for good, "Falcon" was left with no last-minute summon in case of emergency.

Sakura had trudged around Sound and found herself against a six-man team. That had not bothered her immensely, as all of them were soon lying on the ground. But just as she was finishing the last of them, a tall, fair-haired Sound nin had come up behind her and hit a point on her neck that knocked her unconscious.

The same Sound nin was now dragging her behind him like a dog across an unlit corridor.

He stopped at a heavy wooden door with one last hard pull on Sakura's chain, his smug expression never leaving his face.

"Seeing as how you don't particularly enjoy my company, let's see if you'll enjoy his. And I'm sure he wouldn't mind a friend Leaf scum in the last few days of his life."

_His__?_

The Sound ninja hauled the pinkette towards himself while unlocking the door. He pushed it open. From what little light there was, the kunoichi saw that this was another jail cell.

"Oi, wretch, you have a new roommate!" he said as his hand locked tightly around Sakura's throat.

"Be nice, and we'll make sure you die quickly." he chuckled in her year.

He then threw her on the floor of the cell and locked the door, laughing.

Sakura choked as she listened to the sound of his footsteps fade away.

When it did, she pushed herself to sit up. Her eyes started to adjust to the darkness and she looked around.

In the cell there was nothing except for a bench, a small, barred window and four bare walls.

Sakura squinted her eyes and gasped quietly when she saw a silhouette on the wooden bench. She then remembered her captor's words about that other person.

She swallowed as her parched throat tightened.

"Who… Who's there?" she managed to bring out.

The silhouette shifted slightly.

Crimson, Sharingan eyes shone in the darkness and fixated on her.

Sakura's eyes went wide and her mouth opened on its own.

"Impossible…how…?" she whispered through quivering lips.

A deep, smooth voice crept through the silence.

"Sakura." he spoke her name quietly.


	2. Spin to Black Back to Back

Sakura couldn't tear her eyes from the crimson Sharingan fixated on her beaten form.

"It… can't be…" quivering lips muttered.

"What can't?" a calm, smooth voice answered.

The silhouette on the bench leaned towards Sakura. She was too stunned to move anywhere.

"S… S-Sasuke-kun?"

Chains clattered as the silhouette stood up and started walking towards her.

The kunoichi's mind suddenly returned full force and was flooded by memories, feelings, thoughts and… fear. Sakura couldn't help backing up to the wall, away from Sasuke. She hadn't even seen him yet, but she was certain that it was him walking towards her. Her mind had chosen to completely ignore the fact that he had once been a teammate, a comrade… a friend. He was an enemy now, and a powerful one. One that wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

A small beam of moonlight was coming from the small barred window and fell in the center of the cell.

The silhouette slowly stepped into it to reveal the form of Sasuke Uchiha.

He tilted his head in some kind of mild surprise. His crimson gaze faded back to midnight black.

He took another step towards the pinkette. She involuntarily flinched and brought her chained together wrists to her front protectively.

The Uchiha's lips curled up in a dark smirk as he silently brought his own arms from behind him for Sakura to see.

His wrists were also shackled, but separated with an elbow-length iron piece.

Obviously so he could not perform any seals. Sakura understood the silent message: "I won't hurt you for now. I can't even if I wanted. But not because you stir something within – because I'm currently physically incapable of harming you."

She visibly relaxed and Sasuke's smirk widened.

"This is interesting. I didn't expect our next meeting to be in a jail cell." he said.

The kunoichi simply stared at him.

"Why are you here, Sakura?" he asked evenly as his expression went to his usual blankness.

Sakura looked at him with mild irritation.

"Isn't it obvious? I was captured." she muttered.

Sasuke's eyes widened by a fraction.

_I wonder what's going on in her head… She's never spoken like that to me before._

"Of course… For what?" his question sounded.

Sakura narrowed her eyes. Her mind started racing.

_He's my enemy now! Who knows what kind of information I may betray to him without even knowing! But…he's also my goal! I didn't go through all this just to drive him away! He's practically landed in my hands! Now is my chance! I have to try…I have to persuade him…I'd best just be honest with him…_

"I trudged into former Sound territory, Sasuke-kun." she answered firmly.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. _Sound? What in the world would _she _be doing in Sound?_

"What would _you_ ever want with the former Hidden Sound village?"

"I went… I was on your trail, Sasuke-kun." Sakura tried her best to keep her eyes on his.

"I was trying to find you. Word was, "Falcon" had gone on a wild goose chase." she managed to bring out a smirk.

_How did she f__ind that out? I specifically ordered "Falcon" to tell absolutely no one about our plans! Oh, if Karin opened her big mouth again…But does it matter now?_

The Uchiha didn't let his inner worries show.

"My team was looking for something, Sakura. And I know that it was there. I'm curious as to how you found out that that something was _not _there?"

Sakura sighed sarcastically.

"Sasuke-kun. I knew you haven't changed."

Sasuke frowned at this.

"You're still quite rash. You never even bothered to check if your sources were trustworthy."

"My judgment has nothing to do with it."

His face darkened then. His eyes dropped to the floor.

"This whole plan is a holdup. It's only stalling my revenge…"

Sakura's firm façade diminished.

"Your revenge? But… you killed your brother already, didn't you--"

"Shut up!" Sasuke silenced her. Though his head was turned away, Sakura sensed something wasn't right. His face seemed angry… almost hurt. As if he was regretting something deeply.

"But--"

"You know nothing of this!" Sasuke snapped. His hand clenched into a fist within the shackles which clattered softly.

"You know nothing…! Nothing about all of it. But it doesn't matter now… nothing does…"

Not until his voice died down did Sakura notice how defeated the young Uchiha looked. He was slouching, his shoulders were slumped in surrender. His posture betrayed him. His body was covered in bruises, beaten, much like hers, but to a lesser extent. His clothes were dirty, torn in some places, and by the way he carried himself she could tell he had been in the cell for a lot longer than she first thought. But his appearance was not what worried her, it was the way he seemed… broken. As if his will was stolen from him. It scared her – her Sasuke-kun, seeing him like that… It was never a good thing to see a broken shinobi.

It was as though Uchiha Sasuke had finally… given up. Him – the Uchiha clan's survivor, the avenger, the one with iron will, the one that never gave up. The one whose hatred and desire for vengeance had proven stronger than strength itself, stronger than bonds, stronger than his comrades, stronger than… everything.

Sakura hadn't noticed when her eyes had welled up.

"Sasuke-kun, what has the world done to us?" Her voice came out barely above a whisper.

The young Uchiha turned his gaze towards the moon visible through the small barred window.

"It doesn't matter anymore. After tomorrow, nothing will. Ever again."

"Tomorrow?" Sakura echoed.

"Sasuke turned his eyes to her, an eerie, broken smirk twisting his lips.

"Tomorrow they execute us."

The kunoichi's eyes went wide with shock.

_So, that's what that Sound bastard meant!_

She didn't even try to stop the poisoned words that slipped through her gritted teeth.

"The fucking bastards!"

With that she willed her beaten body to stand up straight and put a leg between the chains on her wrists.

Inner Sakura, observing the absurdity of the whole situation, had decided to step in and for once be the voice of reason. Sakura couldn't analyze, come up with any sort of plan. All she knew was that she had to get out of there.

_Oh, if they think they can beat me…I refuse to just let them __kill me here, not until I bring Sasuke-kun back! I don't care who gets in my way, I'm walking out of here with him!_

Her chakra was nearly drained, and she had half-expected it to be, if those Sound scum had any common sense. But through the few hours of sleep she had got on the ground of the freezing cell, she had regained a little bit of it and was now vigorously trying to channel it to her hands and foot.

She pulled. She actually yanked her wrists, as if yanking hard enough could somehow make the chains break. She pressed her foot against them, trying with all her force to destroy those goddamned pieces of metal that were restricting her movements.

Sakura had been wrenching and pulling at her chains for at least ten minutes filled with constant rattling until Sasuke, who had meanwhile found his way back to the bench, turned to look in her direction with disinterest.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked quietly.

Sakura paused her attempts to look at him.

"What does it look like?"

She made an especially hard pull that left her panting.

The Uchiha simply raised an eyebrow.

Sakura resumed her struggles at full force.

"Well, if you wish to just sit here and rot until they come to rip your guts, then be my guest. It wouldn't be my fault if you've given up on your own stupid life! I, on the other hand, don't want to die!"

She strained against her shackles again.

Sasuke just continued to eye her.

"We both know your attempts are useless. Even if you somehow manage to break the metal, how do you plan to get out of this cell? And if you somehow manage to do even that, how do you plan to walk two steps without them coming to gut you as you move?"

Sakura didn't answer, and continued to draw her chakra to her hands as she pulled at her chains.

"You're wasting your time." Sasuke added.

"Oh yeah? Well then, tell me of some better uses for my time!"

He answered nothing.

"As I thought. Sasuke-kun, you can just wait for your death. But I can't. I will never forgive myself. I would never forgive myself if I let the two of us die without even trying!"

Sasuke's lips parted in surprise at her words.

Sakura had meant every one. And the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She was angry with Sasuke, for giving up, just like that. She was angry with her goddamned shackles, at that moment she was angry with the whole world.

"_Bah! Nothing is impossible if you're pissed off enough!"_

Sakura remembered her shishou's angry shouts when she was once again losing to her own apprentice in poker.

They were one of the biggest truths she had ever heard.

She charged the last of her chakra to her hands. They glowed a pale blue and she could almost feel the metal weakening under her strength.

She was strong now. She would never again crumble under someone else's strength.

_Who is the weak one now? Huh, Sasuke-kun?_

A long, loud growl escaped Sakura's throat as she yanked the chains with everything she had.

Sasuke's eyes widened as she roared almost animalistically and the cell was filled with the loud rattling of the chains which broke into pieces.

His stunned gaze followed them when they hit the stone floor.

Sakura fell on her knees, breathing heavily.

"Sakura…"

She turned to him, giving him a small, exhausted smile.

His expression, however, only turned angry.

"You're an idiot! What were you thinking?! Everything alive within a two kilometer radius must have heard that noise! Now they're going to…"

The sound of someone quickly unlocking the heavy door cut Sasuke's rants short.

He sent Sakura a "you are so dead" glare as the door was kicked open.

"What the fuck is going on here?" the blonde Sound shinobi barked.

_I'm so busted, I'm so busted, I'm so busted…_

Sakura couldn't have even dreamed of a more perfect opportunity – the door was unlocked, which meant she had the full freedom to escape. Now, if only that Sound bastard would let her…

Thinking quickly, she managed to hide her now free hands behind her just as her captor landed his eyes on her.

He noticed she'd moved, and guessed she must have stumbled over her own shackles.

"Nobody told me the Hokage's apprentice would be such a waste. You might want to be careful, dearie, or you'll kill yourself before we have the chance to."

_Hokage's apprentice? Sakura and I sure have been out of touch for a while…_

As the Sound nin mocked her, Sakura poked her brain for a way to somehow take him out with no chakra, no strength and no weapon.

_Think! Analyze him, search for weak spots…_

She sized him up, taking every detail in for some kind of clue.

_He's tall…That usually means a weak upright stance…He's standing with his legs close, so that means he's not stable…If I can disable his legs, I might have a chance!_

She suddenly crouched on all fours and swept her right leg towards the Sound nin's ankles.

But before she even finished the swing, he had already jumped out of the way.

"You really are a sneaky little bitch!" she heard his voice next to her and turned to face him. Her speed was greatly reduced by her beaten-up, drained state and before she even tried to punch him in the jaw, he grabbed her arms in one big hand.

_What was I thinking? I can't beat him! Not like this! But I can't just give up! This may be my only chance to escape, to save myself! And Sasuke-kun, too._

Sakura struggled in his tight grip, but that got her nowhere.

"Tsk! You and your Uchiha friend have been nothing but trouble. And I'm finding myself tired of you both. I'm sure no one will bitch, so I'm thinking of gutting you two right now! What do you think, blossom?"

He twisted her arms behind her back and pulled out a kunai.

"Let me go, you bastard!" she hissed.

"Very well." the Sound nin snickered and started aiming the kunai at her throat.

Suddenly, Sakura saw in perfect clarity her own situation.

She was defenseless in the hands of a strong enemy who was going to kill her within seconds. And Sasuke wasn't going to do anything. He didn't even seem to care.

She didn't want to die like that. She didn't want to die in a cell away from her home, from Konoha, failing the mission of her life.

As Outer Sakura stood and trembled in fear, Inner Sakura took over and screamed words that had not been spoken for years.

"Help me, Sasuke-kun!!"

She felt the cold metal at her throat and her scream escalated in a pitch.

But the kunai never sliced. Her death never came.

A long silent moment passed until the kunoichi felt the Sound nin had frozen behind her. She didn't dare to breathe.

Her captor then fell away on his back, eyes snapped shut.

When Sakura's mind returned to her, she moved her gaze to Sasuke's form.

Spinning crimson Sharingan shone in the dim light and told Sakura all she needed to know.

Sasuke stood up and his hand subtly ran across his sheathed Kusanagi sword.

He looked at Sakura, his crimson gaze fading back to black.

"Let's get out of here."


	3. Deal

"Let's get out of here."

Sakura nodded, a bit puzzled, but now filled with determination.

They both stepped over the Sound ninja's unconscious body and soundlessly rushed out the open door.

Once out, they looked around to discover the prison was arranged like a labyrinth. They couldn't risk wandering around until they found the exit – there was no telling how many enemies were waiting for them.

Sasuke looked up, then down. Then he bit his thumb, breaking the skin until a little blood came out. He formed the seals for a summoning jutsu so fast that Sakura couldn't tell one from the other.

He slammed his palm to the ground. In a puff of smoke appeared a small, dark violet snake.

Sakura hated how it instantly reminded her of Orochimaru and all that came with him – Sasuke's defection, his betrayal. Her brows furrowed and she tried to hide it.

The snake hissed softly and slithered around her legs. Sasuke gathered some of his chakra at the tip of his finger and touched the snake's head. It stiffened and crept away into one of the corridors.

"Are we going to sit and wait for it?" she whispered. It wasn't hard to figure out that Sasuke had sent his snake to find the way out.

He nodded.

"Conceal your chakra and listen carefully. Any sound may mean it's encountered an enemy."

They both hid their chakra signatures and melded with the shadows, Sakura in front, closer to the wall.

_If I make even the slightest sound, I feel that either Sasuke or a Sound nin will kill me!_

Her heart was thumping so loud she was certain if the snake made a sound, she wouldn't hear it. The fact that she was standing so close to Sasuke only made things worse.

She felt his breath on her skin from behind.

_A _lot _worse!_

Sakura felt very uncomfortable. She couldn't explain it, she just wanted to get at least a bit further away from him. Just like the last time, he scared her. She couldn't shake the thought that he could kill her before she even blinked, any moment, and he wouldn't hesitate to do it. She knew all of that for a fact, and from personal expeience.

She took a step away from his body.

_Snap!_

Her breath hitched in her throat and her eyes widened. Sasuke didn't release his firm grip on her wrist and locked his Sharingan gaze with hers.

Sakura resisted the urge to swallow and shudder, and almost felt relieved when she heard soft hissing noises from close by.

The Uchiha finally let go of her and made a seal. The snake disappeared in a puff of smoke and he silently motioned with his head for Sakura to follow him.

Apparently, the snake hadn't encountered any enemies while finding the way out of the labyrinth for them and Sasuke decided it was safe enough to dart.

Sakura noticed the stiffness and uncharacteristic slowness in Sasuke's pace. The last time they'd met, she'd been shocked by the rapid increase in both his speed and strength. But even though she had no idea as to the extent of his new abilities, she still knew him well enough to notice that there was a considerable change in the way he moved and carried himself. Even without her trained eyes she could see it. She was sure he had been in this place for much longer than she had.

The two ninja ran soundlessly along corridors that seemed to stretch for miles.

The pink-haired medic was, again, reminded of Orochimaru – this looked way too much like his old lair. She couldn't wait to be out of here.

Unbeknownst to her, Sasuke couldn't either.

The corridors illuminated with the faint light of candles finally seemed to join in a wider one which was totally dim at its far end.

"Is this the end of the maze?" Sakura finally mouthed.

Sasuke nodded and they slowed their pace. They stopped before what looked to be a heavy metal door, just like the one of their cell.

There were no guards they could get a key from. The door itself had neither a lock, nor a knob.

Sakura looked at Sasuke questioningly. He was already making seals, not paying attention to her. Then his hand glowed a faint blue, which quickly disappeared.

"Shit…" Sasuke cursed under his breath. "I don't have any more chakra…"

Sakura hadn't asked him anything, afraid that if she opposed him, he would definitely kill her. She couldn't help her newfound fright. But a simple metal door was no problem for her strength.

"Move." She said quietly.

Sasuke just stared at her, but stepped back.

Sakura's hands glowed light blue with what little chakra she had left, and she pressed both her palms to the door, pushing it outwards. She was afraid to just punch it down, the noise could attract enemies they certainly couldn't deal with.

She was breathing heavily, and then she felt the door loosen up. She pushed a little more and it fell away to reveal an exit.

Sakura stepped outside, exhausted, and Sasuke followed after.

Compared to the darkness inside, everything looked painfully bright, even though they guessed it was some time in the evening. The sun was just setting.

She inwardly sighed. She looked over to her former teammate who was watching the sunset with an empty gaze.

"What now… Sasuke-kun?"

The Uchiha didn't answer, nor did he give any sign that he'd heard her. He looked up at the evening sky graced with dark orange and pink stripes.

He hated how they reminded them of something. Or someone.

Sakura was still standing beside him, waiting for an answer. She knew that with Sasuke, patience was more than a virtue.

_She's as annoying as ever…_

He slowly turned to face her and couldn't help feeling odd at the words that came out of his mouth.

"…Goodbye, Sakura. And thank you."

It was like déjà vu. The same words, the same face… She almost had the same reaction. Her eyes welled up and tears almost spilled over. Almost.

But she quickly blinked them away. She wasn't standing for this, not again!

_I'm not weak li__ttle Sakura anymore! I didn't come all this fucking way, after all those years just to be cast aside again! No! I am not wasting this chance. I am not the same little girl trying to be a ninja…_

She turned to him, eyes unreadable.

"I don't want your gratitude, Sasuke, if I can even call it that. Hate me, kill me if you want, but…"

Sakura trailed off to stand in front of him, cutting off his way.

"…I am bringing you back to Konoha!"

…

Sasuke averted his gaze and Sakura could swear she saw his Sharingan flash for a second.

"Hn. If I had a ryo for every time I've heard that…" he said quietly.

Sakura frowned. Something about him wasn't right. His head was lowered and his bangs were hiding his face but she could see he was smirking. That infuriating smirk! After five years, it was still the same old Sasuke, looking down on her.

He looked at her with something dark and devilish. His Sharingan activated, as if daring her to… to what?

The medic didn't have time to ponder that because within a second, Sasuke darted off.

_Fuck!_

He rushed straight for the tree tops, graced with orange by the setting sun.

Sakura nearly growled with frustration. He had the nerve to run away?! He didn't even bother to throw some insult at her, or threaten to slit her throat. Come to think of it, she would have preferred that.

_Whatever! I don't care what he does, I'm not letting him go! Not again!_

She darted after him. She still had some chakra left, and used it to speed up, gathering it at her feet. It was a small advantage, but one that Sasuke didn't have.

"Do you hear me, Sasuke?! YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!"

The pink-haired medic didn't know why, but she felt that if she screamed it, it would be enough.

When he didn't turn back to look at her, she merely increased her speed, slowly gaining on him.

"Not again…" she muttered.

It was downright ridiculous – Sakura chasing Uchiha Sasuke who had, somehow, cowered on her and run away.

She knew it was more than ridiculous to think that he'd run away from anyone, but she couldn't figure him out at all.

_Then again, why am I even surprised?_

Sasuke turned to glance at his pursuer.

"Shit…"

The youngest Uchiha had always been confident, and always with reason, but now he got the odd feeling that he had overestimated himself a bit. Especially looking at how close behind him Sakura was.

Even though she had greatly reduced the distance between them, she still had no clue as to what the hell Sasuke was doing.

She didn't keep track of where he was leading her, nor did she care, but she noticed that he was heading towards a clearing.

_Hn. I lead her away._

He was seeing the clearing, and knew that he'd succeeded in leading her to it, away from the prison, only… why exactly had he done it?

At that moment his left knee gave out. It was as if he didn't have control over it. It just bended and sent him flying into the clearing.

"Ugh…"

He landed on the ground heavily and nearly dropped his sword.

_I can't let her see me like this! _he thought as he tried to cover up his fall.

He stood up straight.

_He stopped…?_

Sakura jumped into the clearing and stopped across him, at the other end.

For a few moments there was silence. Sasuke just stood and looked at her, while she caught her breath and watched him with wide eyes, ready to react as fast as she could to any sign of attack he could make.

Finally, he spoke.

"I don't know what you're planning or what you're thinking, but I will not be going back to the village."

"This is the mission I was assigned, Sasuke, so don't flatter yourself. My orders are to bring back to Konohagakure, dead or alive."

He raised an eyebrow.

_I can't even fool myself with this, let alone him. Who am I kidding?_, she thought. She'd practically begged on her knees to be allowed to search for him. But she had to get him to take her seriously.

"Preferably dead, as it said my mission scroll. And know that I will not hesitate to obey that order."

Sasuke sneered at her.

"I don't care about your orders, Sakura. You're just wasting your time, and more importantly, mine. There's nothing for me to go back to at Konoha."

His words cut Sakura deep. She abandoned her mission face and fought the urge to beg.

"Is that what you think, Sasuke?"

She looked at him with all the pain she had held for over five long years.

"Do you really believe there's nothing for you at our village? What about your home, your friends?"

She lowered her head.

"What about you best friend…? What about Naruto? What about…"

"Me" was on the tip of her tongue, but she held it.

"Hn." Sasuke turned halfway away.

"That is not important to me anymore. The ties I had with my home village, with my team, no longer exist because I severed them. I have new bonds with Konohagakure now."

He looked up at her, eyes narrowed.

"The only reason why I would go back to the village…"

Crimson Sharingan swirled.

"…would be to destroy it!!"

Sakura gasped.

_**Destroy Konoha?! Has he gone mad?!**_ Inner Sakura thought.

_Oh no! He's trying to trap me in the Sharingan's genjutsu!_

As her minds both panicked over two different things, her body acted on its own accord and Sakura jumped out of the way.

She tried one of her trademark genjutsu escaping techniques while she circled a tree.

"Kai!"

When nothing happened, she knew she'd dodged it. It was a pathetic attempt to hide, but she didn't come out from behind the tree. She peeked.

Sasuke had dropped to his knee and hand was pressed to his eyes.

_That's right! He didn't have enough chakra before, and now he tried to use one of the Sharingan's techniques…_

She came out from behind the tree. He had started it and she planned to finish it. He'd just given her an idea of how to bring him back.

"Alright." she called to the Uchiha who was just standing up.

"Fight me, Sasuke!"

Sakura got into a battle stance to show she was really serious.

Sasuke, however, didn't make a move to attack.

"There's no point in doing that" he said.

"No, listen to me. Listen!" she ordered.

He turned to her with disinterest.

"I'll make you a deal." she started walking towards him. "We fight…"

She walked deliberately slowly around him. It had the desired effect because he was watching her closely. Not a move she made went unnoticed.

"…And if I win, you come back to Konoha with me."

She stopped in front of him, a few feet away. She was already regretting her proposal, but she couldn't come up with anything else. She knew he wouldn't fight her on his own, so she had to get under his skin.

_I've__ already got myself into a mess; I might as well walk out of it with a clear conscience._

Sasuke appeared as if he was really considering taking up her offer. What did he have to lose? He knew she could never beat him.

"And if _I _win?" he asked.

Sakura took a deep breath and reminded herself that there would be no regrets after this, just a clean conscience.

"If you win…"

_No regrets, no going back!__ I have to… I _need _to…_

"If you win, I leave your life forever. You shall not hear from Naruto, me or Konoha again."

Sasuke was surprised. He really hadn't thought that Sakura was capable of such an offer.

_She's really gained an edge to her… The Sakura I used to know was more impulsive, yet she never went to such extremes…_

That same girl was standing in front of him now, mouth a grim line, eyes unreadable, waiting for an answer.

"What do you say, Sasuke?"

**A/N: Uh-oh, what do we have here? Interesting proposal, don't you think? Will Sasuke take Sakura up on it? How do you think?**

**Sasuke: Hn…**

**Muslin: Seriously, is that your trademark or something??**

**Sasuke: Hn-hn, hn-hn hnnnn…**

**Muslin: Yo, Sasuke? Are you okay?**

**Sasuke: *humming* So what, I'm still a rock star, I've got my rock moves…**

**Muslin: ???**

**Sasuke: *takes of earmuffs* What?**

**Muslin: … Nothing. :D I was just telling everyone to R&R!**

**I'll update soon. In the meantime, why don't you give the review button a nice click-massage?**

**Muslin**


	4. With the Devil

Chapter IV - …With the Devil

"So, what do you say? Sasuke?"

Sakura stopped in front of him, hand on her hip, as if she were queen of the clearing.

_**Please say no! Pleasesaynopleasesayno!**_

_Come on Sasuke! I have to do this…_

Sasuke was watching her with an empty gaze again, as if he didn't even see her.

They could cut the silence with a knife, but it would break if they tried to cut the air heaving with tension.

The silence stretched on. Sakura could swear that if she'd missed it, she'd be dead – Sasuke's Sharingan suddenly activated, just as he had been watching her, and in a second he had already drawn his sword from the sheath.

Words were needless – he had just agreed to try and destroy her in favor of himself.

He gripped his sword and then she blinked. He was gone.

It was not until then that Sakura started comprehending who she was really dealing with and what kind of offer he'd just seen fit to accept.

Trying her best not to start panicking, she flipped backwards, looking everywhere visible for Sasuke.

_I can't even feel his chakra?! Oh, damn it! He said he was drained back then…_

She realized trying to sense him was useless. She could only hope he wasn't fast enough to attack before she saw him.

_There!_

Her luck hadn't given up on her – a twig snapped from behind her and a second later Sasuke shot forward.

Sakura leapt as high as she could and flipped back, landing in front of him. Her chakra had already charged at her fists as the kunoichi got into a battle stance and prepared to hit.

But the Uchiha didn't give her the chance to even make a step. He lunged at her with his Kusanagi in a blur and she moved aside just in time to escape the slicing blade.

Sasuke couldn't afford to send any of his almost non-existent chakra down the length of his sword, but that made it little less deadly.

Sakura, however, was well suited for an evasive style. She was a medical ninja first and foremost, which meant she had to learn to keep enemies as far away as possible.

She ran, flipped and jumped, all with the grace of a feline. She was by far the most agile opponent Sasuke had ever faced.

_I can't even land one hit! She's…improved…_

But Sakura was not in any shape to continue her escapes for much longer. She was getting seriously exhausted, and she wasn't getting any closer to beating Sasuke.

So she switched to offense. The chakra she'd spent on dodging was so far wasted and she wasn't sure if she had enough left to land a powerful hit. Even though she was afraid of that sword, of Sasuke and his Sharingan, she knew that the only chance of beating him lied in… well, actually beating him.

And that meant getting close enough to make physical contact.

So, the kunoichi made one last escape and disappeared so fast that even Sasuke's Sharingan couldn't make out where exactly she went. The Uchiha thought he saw her disappear to the left, and he assumed she would try to attack from behind, so he turned around quickly and changed his stance so he could defend when she darted in with a hit.

But that attack never came. Sasuke scanned and scanned the area in front of him with his crimson gaze, but saw nothing. Not to mention felt nothing. As the seconds passed by, his tortured mind started pondering the possibility of Sakura learning invisibility. Of course, that lasted no longer than a moment, but the Uchiha heir was actually in the state of not knowing what to do. He didn't dare move, neither did he dare deactivate his Sharingan.

And then he saw her.

_She might have improved, but she is still the same dimwitted…_

Before he even finished that thought though, Sakura came into clear view, what he thought was her anyway.

She looked exactly like the pink-haired medic but a second later Sasuke saw through her – it was a clone, and not even a shadow clone, just a mere illusion. Even without the Sharingan, he could have noticed it was not the real Sakura. The illusion ran towards him but it didn't distort the grass it ran over, nor did it produce a sound.

_She's coming at me with an _illusion_?! A fucking clone?!_

Sasuke was too stunned and appalled at the pathetically simple technique to do anything. He just goggled at the coming illusion, an inward anger rising within him. She had the _nerve _to come at him with a technique that even Genin thought pitiful?! Was she really thinking that he, Uchiha Sasuke, could be taken in by such a sorry excuse for a distraction?

What he failed to realize was that he was already taken in. Sakura knew him better than he thought. What everyone considered genius was actually brilliantly simple – Sakura had made that her style and in the case, she had pulled off a flawless distraction. Presenting her opponent such a big surprise and confusion worked better than any complicated distracting technique.

Normally, this was when she stepped out from behind a tree and hurled a barrage of kunai with explosive tags at the enemy, making him first a living needle-case, and then a dead one.

But the medic had neither kunai nor exploding tags. She only had her mind and chakra, both of which she tried to put to best use.

_Doton: Sekijun__ Botsu no Jutsu!*_

Sasuke felt it a fraction of a second before it hit. A rock pillar rose up from the ground so fast, with such force, that he had less than a second to move out of the way. And that was not fast enough even for the Uchiha prodigy.

"Aargh!" he shouted as the air was filled with a dreadful cracking. A moment later, the pain that rushed through Sasuke told him that the sound had been from his own arm. He was still in mid-air after his attempt to jump out of the pillar's way and he lost balance.

His left arm hung lifelessly at his side as he landed heavily.

He was panting heavily. Then he finally spotted Sakura, right in front of him, about ten meters away. Before he even had time to catch his breath, the kunoichi's hands flew up in front of her in a series of hand seals.

To ill fortune, Sasuke's Sharingan was still activated and through the momentary haze of his pain he saw exactly which seals she last formed.

…_Boar…Horse…Wait! No, she can't…!_

At last, her fingers formed the Tiger seal, the sign of fire jutsu and her hands separated.

_She can't possibly…!_

Sakura then inhaled deeply, feeling her lungs get filled almost completely, and she hoped she had enough chakra to execute the technique.

Sasuke's eyes went wide in disbelief as Sakura blew.

A grand fireball flew from her mouth and rapidly spread forward, burning everything in its way and threatening to engulf Sasuke in flames. He dodged at the last moment, still shocked beyond thinking.

Then, the realization of her technique somehow reached his mind.

Sakura had just used the Grand Fireball, the Uchiha's trademark clan jutsu, _his _clan jutsu, against him. In comprehending it, anger started filling the dark haired ninja.

His brow furrowed and his face contorted with rage. Sharingan flashed crimson as Sasuke pulled out his sword with his undamaged arm, instantly forgetting everything – the pain, his lack of chakra, technique. All he registered in that moment was that he wanted to destroy his opponent, to obliterate her, _now._

The medic coughed, now feeling the lack of chakra and the strain she'd put on her body with detail. She was frustrated by Sasuke's successful dodging. But it was worth it in her opinion, as she knew and valued the power of surprise, even with an opponent like Sasuke, who took a whole lot to even blink. Yet, somehow, she felt she had overdone it. She'd messed with Sasuke in a way she was sure nobody ever did, and she had a feeling that she'd pushed his wrong buttons.

The smoke of her fireball was still dissipating, obscuring her vision.

Suddenly, her ears were filled with an eerie sound, suspiciously reminiscent of the chirping of birds. Sakura had heard it many times before, and it meant only one thing.

_The __Chidori!_

Inner Sakura was cowering with her hands in front, and the pink haired kunoichi tried to fight with her fear, realizing that there was no escaping the Chidori.

The smoke finally dispersed, revealing streaks of lightning in the distance. As they rapidly got nearer, the kunoichi's panic grew tenfold when she saw Sasuke running towards her, his eyes wide open with Sharingan ablaze and his face in a grimace that radiated nothing more than hatred and blind rage.

The Chidori dancing around the length of his blade solidified her instinctive thought that in the next moment, she was going to die.

Sasuke was so close now. He continued to shorten the distance between them and came at her with a savage roar.

Sakura's body acted on its own. She jumped away, but not nearly fast enough.

"AAAARGHH!"

Sasuke's battle roar and her cry of pain mixed in a terrifying sound.

The two shinobi clashed in a blur of lightning for a second. Then they repelled like the same ends of a magnet.

Sasuke fell heavily on the ground and used his sword to prevent himself from landing face-first in the soil.

He was kneeling, his face still showing his strain as he fought to keep breathing. He knew using a Chidori posed a great threat to his state as it was now, but he didn't regret it. That moment of great anger gave him the ounce of boldness and foolishness to do what he never would have decided upon otherwise.

_Did I…at least get her? _he thought and made great effort to turn and look past his shoulder.

She was lying on her side on the ground. Her eyes were closed, roseate hair falling like a curtain over her face. The youngest Uchiha couldn't see whether she was breathing, but her eyes were closed. She lay as she had fallen.

The seconds ticked by, but she wasn't standing up, she wasn't moving.

_Ack!_

A shot of pain rushed through Sasuke's broken arm and he quickly turned around, grabbing it. He started coughing from a sudden pain in his chest. His chakra was completely exhausted and he couldn't sustain the Sharingan any longer. He felt it deactivate as his eyes changed from crimson to their normal midnight black.

Behind him, the figure of the kunoichi shifted. Heavy eyelids cracked open to reveal unfocused jade orbs.

Sakura's mind registered and remembered everything immediately.

Sasuke had lashed at her with his sword and Chidori, and she remembered trying to dodge. She remembered the numbing in her left leg after that, and knew that she'd escaped death by a hair's breadth. The Chidori had only grazed her leg, but even that had been enough to knock her unconscious for a few minutes. She didn't remember the moments after that, but she assumed she'd fallen, noting her position on the ground and the pain in her side.

With great effort, she managed to get herself in a kneeling position, her leg useless. Then she saw Sasuke with his back to her, and guessed that he hadn't or hadn't been able to move from where he had been thrown.

Suddenly, he turned round and spotted her.

They both realized that their battle still wasn't over.

But Sakura couldn't do anything. She had almost no chakra, she couldn't stand up. All she could do was watch with silent wonder as Sasuke stood up, very slowly, very painfully, but he rose up.

His left arm hung at his side unmoving, and his other clutched at his ribs, but he was still standing. His gaze was buried at his feet, emotionless, face blank. Sakura couldn't help the feeling that she'd seen that face so many times before. He slowly started making what steps were separating them.

And just then, Inner Sakura found herself.

_**God damn it! I can't give up! I won't give up! I can't fail! I won't let it end like this!! SHANNARO!!**_

With that, Sakura realized she was right. She wouldn't give up. She would fight to the end. The strategist in her started turning turbines.

She knew she couldn't best Sasuke in ninjutsu even if she did have enough chakra, and she had no strength for taijutsu. She couldn't beat Sasuke in that even if she was in a condition to fight like that, and so, she turned to the only other choice. The one thing Sasuke didn't excel at the academy, as she remembered. And knowing Orochimaru, he'd trained his protégé in everything but genjutsu.

Sakura knew that the Sharingan had the ability to counter any genjutsu and reflect it back to the user, but from what she could see and from what she knew, Sasuke's Sharingan was deactivated and he wouldn't be able to activate it again in the state he was in.

As the Avenger slowly made his way to finally end her life, Sakura's hands went up and calmly started forming seal after hand seal. Every step of the Uchiha matched each seal the medic's hands formed.

He finally stood before her, and smirked darkly, seeing her last attempt at a technique.

"A fight to the end, huh, Sakura…?" he said as he slowly lifted his sword.

Sakura didn't say anything. Breathing heavily, she looked up at him through half-lidded eyes. This was it.

His weapon reached its highest point just as she finished her last hand sign.

The sword started coming down.

A sharp gasp escaped her lips as she felt the jab from forcing out the last of her chakra.

But it wasn't enough. She didn't make it. She knew she hadn't, yet still she shot her hand forward trying to initiate the technique.

The sword stated coming down faster.

Their world went black.

*************************************************************************************************************

The fading rays of the almost set sun caressed Sakura's cheek. She opened her eyes slowly to look up at dark blue sky.

She groaned quietly and felt she was still lying on the ground. Breathing.

_Am I dead? Why am I not dead__?_

She groaned and tried to sit up. She found it wasn't as painful as before, even though she had been unconscious for no longer than an hour.

Suddenly, she felt cold steel being pressed against her throat. Her breath hitched and she froze, looking up to see Sasuke.

He was sitting next to her, looking completely exhausted but quite awake. She guessed that he'd regained consciousness a minute earlier than her, at most. She squirmed and he pressed his sword to her neck harder, a bit more and it would slice and draw blood.

A smirk graced his strained face.

"I won." he smirked.

Sakura gazed into blank, half-lidded onyx eyes. They were emotionless, but still betrayed victory.

Her parched lips parted open and a little disappointed gasp went past them.

The pink-haired kunoichi slumped, bowing her head. She didn't care if he slit her throat anymore. Nothing mattered now.

_I…I failed. What am I going to do now? I couldn't keep to my own promise…I failed everyone. I'm so sorry, Tsunade-shishou…I'm so sorry, Naruto._

At the thought of Naruto, she shut her eyes and felt a jab of bitterness, much more painful than any physical pain she was feeling now.

_How am I going to go back to Konoha now?! I failed myself and everyone I ever loved. If I can't bring back even one comrade, what kind of ninja, what kind of person am I? I couldn't convince…I couldn't…_

She made an effort, but she couldn't say his name even in her own thoughts.

_What have I been doing all these years? All this time…wasted. I thought I could become stronger…Is this really the limit of my power? Is this really the best I can do? I'm so pitiful…_

Right then, Sakura wanted to hide, to cover her face in her hands, but she didn't, for it would be admitting complete defeat.

_I may have failed, but I cannot show myself like that to him. Oh, how am I going to face the village? How am I going to live with this disgrace?_

She looked up to Sasuke, who lowered his sword. She almost protested, wishing he had killed her. Then she wouldn't have to live with herself and her failure.

But the Uchiha didn't make a move to threaten her. He merely stood up and put his sword back in its sheathe.

Sakura wanted to shout, to cry, to kill him, but she knew she couldn't, even if she wanted.

She felt she still had a little bit of chakra, probably replenished while she had been out and decided to at least try to fix her leg so she could stand up. The medic brought her hands to her injured, numb leg and tried healing it.

A faint green glow surrounded her palms, but it wasn't enough to heal her useless leg. Even so, she continued to try and push out chakra.

Sasuke noticed that. And for some reason, that became his third great surprise in a row.

"You are a medical ninja?" he asked quietly.

Sakura didn't bother to nod or answer, for it was evident. She gave up on her leg, fixing the damage by Sasuke's Chidori would take a lot of concentration and chakra, both of which were impossible for her to acquire right then.

She raised her head to Sasuke, and he looked down to her, their eyes meeting in a mute question "What do we do now?"

_*__ Doton: Sekijun Botsu no Jutsu:_

_Earth Release: Stalagmite Death Rise_

**A/N: In case you are wondering **_What kind of Earth jutsu was that? I haven't seen it in Naruto before…_**, ponder no more: it is courtesy of me!**

**Oops, forgot disclaimer!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Naruto (although I wish I did…*sigh*), but I do own this story. Oh, and also that Earth jutsu! So, of one day Kishi-san makes a chapter and that Earth jutsu is in it, I'm gonna want my credit!**

**By the way, my other story is on hold for a liiitle while.**

**Enjoy, and afterwards you can tickle Mr. Review Button – he loves being clicked :D**

**Toodles,**

**Muslin**


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